The worst car I ever owned...

The worst car I've ever owned...

1992 Plymouth Voyager minivan. Transmission crapped out at 48K miles, required rebuild. Various engine oil leaks. Tranny failed again at 60K miles. All this despite to-the-letter maintenance (oil changes every 3k miles, tranny fluid change every 24k miles).

Replaced the Voyager with a Jeep Cherokee XJ in 1996. In contrast, the Cherokee was built like a tank and gave me 10 years of good running (and at 18mpg it's the lesser of the SUV evils), semi-retired this year (still in good running condition) in favor of my new 2007 Prius.

The Cherokee will still find some use during the snow season though.

 

I've had many cars too. I think the worst was my Plymouth Voyager. I went through five transmissions in 130K. Brake pads every 30K. The rockers starved for oil around 90K. The tie rods literally fell off while I was driving. The body cracked from stress. Other than that it was a great car! (Actually it did ride nice)

Here's the kicker. When I told a co-worker I was thinking about buying a Prius, he said I should wait until Chrysler comes out with their hybrid. As if!

Happy Motoring!

 

Easy - 76 Mercury Capri - shift lever would stick in 2nd - rebuilt twice by the dealer (got a pinto as a loaner) tho it still would stick occasionally after that. After 10k miles - blue smoke, piston slap - it had the pinto engine where they didn't drill the oil squirter hole in the rods so in cold climates no cylinder wall lube on startup. Steering pulled to the left. Traded it in still under warranty to another dealer so got a reasonable trade-in. A month later a lady called - "did you own a red Capri ? And did you ever have any trouble with it?" She was the new "lemon" owner, poor lady.

 

1961 Renault - I bought it when I was in the Navy in Pensacola, FL in 1967. I paid a big $150. It was my first car and I was PROUD of it!

It hardly ran. The Navy base had a garage where us sailors could work on our cars. One friend said he could tune it up, no problem. The first thing he did was yank off ALL the spark plug wires without marking them. There was no way to figure out the firing order to put them back. I actually drove off base a short distance (to a proper mechanic) with the power from the starter motor. You know, put the car in gear, turn the key and get a power from the starter motor so the car would hop forward a few feet. Then coast another few yards.

Did I mention how it burned oil? I actually laid a smoke screen behind me when I accelerated. I carried a gallon of used motor oil in the trunk to top off the oil when needed. I don't know how I didn't get a ticket for polluting the air.

One day I decided to try to drive to New Orleans for the Mardi Gras! B) . I got about 10 miles out of Pensacola and burned out the valves. I limped back to town somehow and sold the car a few days later to a another used car dealer for $75 (remember I paid $150). The used car dealer test drove it, but he drove it on a dirt rutted road next to his shop so I guess he didn't notice the valves were blown! What a stroke of luck! I just hoped he didn't look out the rear window to see the smoke screen we were creating!

Anyway. That's my story. We probably all have great stories of our first cars.

Marvin

 

2001 Prius

Spent a premium for the early hybrid technology. Then spent a premium for regular maintenance and service.

Then, after 91K, had a transaxle failure costing $5K. Toyota decided that it would not cover the defect, so the car was salvaged.

Now, I'm looking at Honda.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(endoildependency @ Oct 8 2005, 01:34 PM) [snapback]138372[/snapback]</div>

My Dad had a Nash and a Rambler at different times, as Company cars. I was just a kid, but I recall the door handles coming off in our hands, the rearview mirror falling off, and there being grease leaking from various parts of the car that one would think should be clean.

We had the Ralph Nader car, the Corvair that was unsafe at any speed, and it was terrific in comparison with the Nash. There was the valiant, too. It was okay, just incredibly ugly.

As for cars that I have owned, I would have to say the 1985 Diesel Rabbit was pretty bad. It got 60 MPG, at least in theory. However, the entire car only lasted about 60K miles, before the engine blew to smitherines in the middle of nowhwere outside of Eureka during the Bush-Dukakis debate. After that, we bought a Honda and never figured it could get any better than that. Now, I wouldn't buy a honda again, if you payed me! We love our Prius.

By the way, if you spill coffee on the Prius cloth seats and clean it up with Folex, don't try to dry it off with the hairdryer so that you husband won't know anything happened. Because what happens is you will melt the fabric.

:huh:

 

1979 Ford Pinto. Fortunately, it had already been defused by the previous owner.

 

1969 XW ford Falcon
I replaced the radiator the thermostat and the radiator cap then replaced the head gasket and it still boiled on hot days. Even my Leyland Mini was better. Fiat 850 coupe was a bomb but for the price it was a beast. I had a Humber Super Snipe which was a real classic but had a big end knock from new, it just wasn't worth fixing. Since that I have only had Toyotas, never had a serious problem in 25 years with Toyota.

 

Early 80's VW Rabbit, what a pile. Purchased new.

In 8,000 miles:
2 sets of brakes
The exhaust fell off
Every time it rained, there was 1-2" of water sloshing around the rear floor.

I traded for a Chevy Chevette, and took a 25% hit. It was worth it.

 

1999 Land Rover Discovery Series 1. The first and last time I bought a non-Toyota vehicle.

 

'79 Volkswagen Dasher. God, what a piece of crap that thing was.

 

1963 Radio Flyer

If anyone knows why this was an underpowered vehicle then.....keep quiet!

 

LOL! Good One!

 

1979 Volvo Wagon
I called it "my dollar car."
It was my first car. A family friend sold it to me for a dollar.
It blew up on the freeway two weeks into the summer before my senior year of high school!
I saved all summer & bought myself a 1989 Jetta GL. Loved that car.
Then a 1993 Honda Civic EX that my step mom gave me (she bought it new & drove it a while).
Now I own my Prius... LOVE it the MOST, by FAR, of course!!!

 

ALot of people here seem to have had bad luck with American cars. Not me. Maybe I am just lucky.

1978 Delta 88 bought used and drove two years till it was totaled in an accident only repair was a hose replacement.

1979 Delta 88 bought used and drove it two years. Needed normal wear items only and sold it to a family member.

198? Chevy Cavalier wagon bought used from a guy who had a competition stereo installed, he left 12 speakers in it for me. Drove it for two years and then it failed, was told it needed a new trans. Repair was more then the car cost so I gave it away to a friend who fixed it himself without changing the trans.

1985 Toyota Corolla (Chevy Nova Geo Prism) bought used, drove it for three years needed big repairs such as transaxel, strange electronic problems, timing belt. This would be worst car if I had not paid so little for it used.

1996 Dodge Neon/expresso. My worst car. It never left me dead on the side of the road, needed no major repairs and was fast as hell. On the other hand it got far worse mpg then it should have. Dealer would not fix it. Said it was 'normal'. It was also VERY LOUD at highway speeds. All of my other cars I got very close to EPA ratings. I traded it in for almost nothing which hurt the most.

1997 Dodge Caravan bought new. Got better mpg then the neon! Drove it for work, had three others driving it. Had it five years. Was abused. Never broke. Sold it to family. It has since only needed wear items except a battery terminal problem. AC died at 8 years. Its still running. It has a Mitsubishi engine not a Dodge one.

1998 Mustang. NO REPAIRS OF ANY KIND. Drove five years. Only oil changes and battery. Everything worked when I sold it to a friend. Still on the road today though has needed trans rebuild. This is clearly my best ever car. I really loved it.

2004 Mustang. Needed a $700 trans repair at just three years but the price of the repair didn't kill me. Gets better then EPA ratings of course it has a five speed and a six cyl so it does well. Has been hit by others while parked so it has been in the body shop. Still driving today.

I will buy a Toyota Prius in 2008 or 2009 depending on when the upgrade is. I would consider a Ford Fusion hybrid if it existed. I will not be buying a car that gets less then 40mpg city. I would prefer a hybrid wagon or mini van but they don't exist.

 

The worst car I had was my first - a 1951 Rover. Used to call it a Kanardly_Rolls (can hardly get up a hill, and rolls down the other side).
Whenever I pulled in to fill it up was more of "fill the oil and check the gas".
Still, it only cost me $150 and I sold it for $80 and apart from the oil, no other weird costs, plus it got me off base (I was in the air force at the time).

 

Chevy Chevette. A worthless collection of nuts and bolts. They make a larger version of it today called the Hummer.

 

Chevette:

• clutch change every 30,000 miles
• too noisy to talk
• poor suspension at all speeds and road conditions
• low performance
• mediocre mileage
• random steering above 55 mph
• steering felt dead at all other speeds
• brakes made the steering seem good

My wife once got a traffic ticket in it for doing 45 mph in a 25 mph zone. The Judge asked her,"What is your story Mrs. Wilson?"

"Your honor, I needed to shift to the next gear and my husband told me I had to get the speed up to the three red lines on the speedometer before I could shift."

The Judge said, "Say WHAT?"; the cops joined in and said, "That is what she told us too!"; and the court room burst in laughter.

After things settled down, the Judge said,"Mrs. Wilson I wish your husband where here today. Case dismissed."

A couple of years later, she tried to follow a pickup truck through a yellow light and the truck driver spotted a cop car and decided to stop. The rear, bumper beam of the pickup truck decapitated the radiator and accordioned the hood. Initially, they didn't realize she was jumping up and down in joy that "the Chevette is dead!"

I got there about 30 minutes later and after making sure she was OK, looked at the damage. She was still singing, "Ding dong the car is gone. The car is gone. The car is dead."

Peering over the damage and rubbing my chin, I said, "Oh I don't know, a rebuilt radiator and $50 in parts and we can get it running again." Then I glanced at my wife whose mood changed and now looked like she was planning Bobicide and burial in a Chevette coffin.

Bob Wilson

 

When I was 17 I bought a used 1970 Chevy Vega. I didn't know whether to fill it with oil or gas when pulling into a gas station. Drove it a year until the universal joint started to go...traded it in for my first new car, a 1976 Toyota Celica. Loved that Celica.

 

My first NEW CAR was a 1988 Chevy Beretta, bright red with a manual transaxle. I paid $11,500 sticker price with a monthly payment of $284.00! (1988, I was 19, and they saw me coming) In the four years I owned it, the dealership did over $15,000 in warrenty repairs! I saved all the receipts and kept a running total. Within the first week they had to replace the trans because the speedo gear sheared off inside it. Then the A/C quit and it needed a compressor. Then the engine threw a connecting rod. I was going 25 mph at the time. Six months later the engine started over heating and blew the head gasket. Then it was the alternator. What a nightmare!! Thank God for Toyotas!!